more I flick my hands to end the expulsion of magic, the faster it rushes out of me. I’m quivering terribly, and I note the Alphas are now staring at me, their faces bloody, their clothes torn, but the look behind their eyes is one of trepidation… toward me.
“Fucking stop already,” I scream with fright, shaking my hands, which only sends the energy out in wider waves, and yet it still swirls in the air like a light show and funnels back to the four trees. It doesn’t so much as touch the men.
A pop echoes.
And the power halts as abruptly as it started, taking with it every inch of strength I held onto.
My knees buckle out from under me, and I collapse on the ground, completely spent, hurting so much I whimper. A tremor shoots through me as the stench of burning wood fills the space, black tendrils curling into the foggy sky.
I know I stopped them, but why does it feel so wrong?
Exhaustion tugs at me and flashes of light dance behind my eyes, but I never lift my gaze from the animated trees who cry out for salvation. But they are too far gone now—I made sure of that—and in moments, they wither into piles of ash.
And just as their flames extinguish, darkness feathers at the corners of my eyes and steals me from this world too.
11
Ragnar
The cold water laps up to my abs, and I walk deeper into the river, Narah cradled in my arms. Her head is nestled against my chest while her body is burning up. I need to lower her temperature, hoping it will wake her up. Her wet clothes stick to her body, and I can’t ignore the way her shirt clings to her breasts, revealing the circular pink-colored area of skin surrounding her tight nipples. The sight drives my pulse.
But so do the images of her assault on the sentinel trees and the extravagant ability she’s been hiding all this time. I expected power from her, being a Cursed and all, but the show she put on back in the woods is beyond startling.
Coldness seeps up my spine at the thought.
This girl in my arms saved us, but there’s so much more to her. I’ve encountered witches in Denmark, and a memory hovers at the edges of my mind. Tora, a witch who lived on the fringes of our village, was known for her terrifying power. The thing about her was that she often lost control of her power and would regularly set into motion dangerous chains of events she never intended. Like calling animals from the woods, putting them into such a panicked trance that they charged through our town in a wild stampede, killing so many. My father kept her alive regardless, with the hope that he could help her control her ability and utilize her magic for his own deeds. Though we all knew he had fallen for her charm and called her to his bed often.
Then, one day, Tora brought to our world a massive trembling of the earth, our homes crumbling, the foundations cracking as a great crack split down the middle of our village. Father’s second-in-command had enough. He took several of his men and slayed the witch.
Father bellowed with fury and had him killed the next day for an act of betrayal. My father had always been an angry bastard. But while Tora didn’t deserve to die, she had to be dealt with, as she was a danger to everyone. We all knew it, but Father refused to listen to reason. It was my men and I who cleaned up the dead bodies, who took them into the woods and burned them for the families to have their final farewell.
Inwardly shaking, I can still smell the stench of death now at the memory.
Glancing down at Narah with her eyes closed, her small nose sprayed with black soot, and her lips parted as she breathes softly, I can’t ignore how beautiful she is… or that she may be just as dangerous as Tora.
I step deeper into the river and lower myself, the cold water greedily rushing over Narah’s body. I hiss against the sting across my back where the trees whipped me. But I’ll heal in no time, even if I’m fucking exhausted. Narah passing out worries me, though.
The sound of splashing water has me turning my head back to Crius and Stone, who dive into the river for a wash. Nikos sits on a